Tomb Raider

It’s halfway over and 2013 is already proving to be one of the best years in gaming ever. To prove that point, I put together a top 10 list for the first six months of the year. Here’s the first half and below is my top 5.

The group of games compares favorable to what came out in 2012, and it’d give any year a run for its money aside from maybe 2004, when Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Halo 2, Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft launched. It’ll be interesting to see how history looks at this year and this set of titles.

If there was any franchise that needed a reboot, it would be hers. She’s long overdue for one but if a developer put out a prettier version of Tomb Raider where she jumps over impossible gaps and clings on ledges, it would be a disappointment. And if they released a version with new gameplay mechanics but the same heroine, it would feel like a half step.

A reboot needs to tackle the franchise from a fresh perspective, and with Tomb Raider, which comes out in March 5, 2013, it looks like Crystal Dynamics is doing just that. After playing four hours at a preview event, I’m excited with the direction the developer is taking the series. It’s grittier. It’s more cinematic. But ultimately, what makes this iteration of Tomb Raider so fascinating is Crystal Dynamic’s take on Lara Croft herself. The game follows the heroine in her early adulthood. Call it Tomb Raider: Year One or The Young Lara Croft Chronicles.

The Xbox 360 news conference at E3 is over, and the company showed off a couple of games that stood out. For me, Resident Evil 6 looked the best out of the bunch. From what I’ve seen in the gameplay, it seems as though the developer finally updated the controls from the Resident Evil 4 scheme that has served the series since the GameCube days. Yes, it’s been that long. The Tomb Raider gameplay demo looked solid. If it proves one thing, it’s that a bow and arrow is the weapon of choice for female protagonists. I’m looking at you Hunger Games and Brave.

But the most surprising game of the presser was South Park: The Stick of Truth. From the clips shown (Hello, Jesus with a machine gun.), it looks like it captured the humor of the series. Afterward, THQ released more details about the game after the conference. It’s coming out March 5, 2013. There’s also a preorder bonus called The Good Time With Weapons Pack that includes the Bulrog Chicken Attack, Cartman’s Kick-Ass Sai and a Samurai Costume. For Xbox 360 fans, THQ will also offer up a special Mysterion Superhero Pack that includes a Superhero Costume, Mysterion’s Special Attack and the Dagger of Cthulhu. One of the more interesting features that’s going to be included in the Xbox 360 version is the ability to taunt in-game character via Kinect. They and I probably mean Cartman apparently talk back. Lastly, the Xbox 360 will have South Park downloadable episodes first.